


Day 2 - Move-In Day

by ReneeLaRoux



Series: A Year In The Life [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Conversations, Developing Relationship, Doctor!Merlin, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reincarnation, Resurrection, Shopping, Slight Smut, Snapshots, day in the life, romance novels, wanking, writer!Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-22 17:00:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12486480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReneeLaRoux/pseuds/ReneeLaRoux
Summary: Shopping, romance novels, confusing sexuality - Arthur's second day in 2017 is full of surprises!





	Day 2 - Move-In Day

**Author's Note:**

> Contains a brief wank. That is all.

     Arthur was uncomfortable. His head hurt, and all he wanted was to go home. At this point, he wanted Camelot, and his wife, and his normal, comfortable clothes. Not these strange…jeans?...as Merlin had called them. They were tight and scratchy and _blue_.

     “Everyone wears jeans,” Merlin had said as he thrust a pile of trousers into his arms and thrust Arthur into a tiny cubicle.

     At breakfast that morning (he had something delightful called cereal) Merlin told him they were going into town to purchase necessities.

     “You need clothes, Arthur, and shoes and other stuff people use nowadays.”

     And so, somewhat reluctantly, he had been taken for his first real experience in the city. He was beginning to like the red contraption called a car – they were to their destination in less than twenty minutes. They had ended up at a place called The Mall.

     “This will probably be sensory overload for you, but we’ll be able to get everything we need in one place,” Merlin said as he lead Arthur into the largest building Arthur had ever seen.

     Two hours later, Merlin was sitting outside the fitting room playing on his phone, a sea of bags at his feet. So far they had managed to find shoes (classic black Chucks and soft brown loafers for nicer occasions), a wallet (“for when you carry money and your identification card”), a watch that Arthur would need to learn to use, and a closet’s worth of what Arthur was referring to as Torso Gear. Merlin liked to be prepared for anything, so he’d bought Arthur a nice array of comfy Henley’s, a few basic tees, and a handful of button-up shirts in various fabrics and styles. He’d also gotten a basic jacket and coat that could withstand frequent rain. A smaller bag contained underwear, socks, and some undershirts.

    Last on the list were trousers. They had already found some dressier slacks (for some reason, Merlin _really_ liked the idea of Arthur in slacks and a crisp, collared shirt). Now, the denim. Two pairs, one black and the other gray, already sat folded on Merlin’s lap. Arthur was currently modeling a pair of classic dark wash jeans, turning to offer a view from different angles. Once again, they were tight in all the right places, but loose enough to be comfortable for everyday wear. Merlin likey.

     “Can we be done now?” Arthur asked, fatigue clear in his voice. Merlin nodded.

     “Take these off and I’ll go pay for everything,” he told him. “You can wear some of this home.” Arthur was grateful – he’d been forced to leave the house in a pair of Merlin’s baggiest track bottoms and t-shirt (which were verging on too tight for Arthur) and a pair of flip-flips, which were surprisingly comfortable but difficult to walk in.

     As he waited for Merlin to finish his transaction, he watched the other customers in the shop. Merlin was right. They all seemed to be wearing denim of some sort. Trousers, skirts, even jackets. Fascinating! Even Merlin was wearing what he called ‘skinny jeans’.

     “Is that because you’re skinny?” Arthur had inquired. This had caused Merlin to throw his head back and laugh, making Arthur’s insides feel a little funny. All of Merlin’s clothes today fit very tightly, and he could truly see the shape of his body for the first time ever. Long legs were thin but he could see their strength when he walked, thigh muscles flexing constantly. Little hips circled around to an equally little, but pert nonetheless, buttocks. Arthur had caught a few women (and men!) staring as he walked by. He’d chosen a soft-looking shirt that he called flannel which clung to his shoulders and chest, chiseled by something called yoga. Overall, Arthur had to admit that these modern fashions were quite pleasing to the eye. And Merlin looked nice in the emerald green of his top.

     The sorcerer arrived again with another bag. He pulled out the blue jeans and a gray Henley from another bag, a pair of underwear and socks from the small bag, and handed them all to Arthur.

     “These will look nice together,” he said, shutting the fitting room door. Gone were the days of Merlin dressing and undressing the man, he thought happily.

     He couldn’t suppress the small gasp when Arthur emerged a few minutes later. He looked amazing, simply put. Better than Merlin thought possible in regular old street clothes. He was sure he was gaping like a fish.

     “How do I look?” Arthur asked shyly, twisting the baggy sweats nervously in his hands.

     “Like a 21st century man,” Merlin smiled. _More like a 21 st century model, _he thought privately. He helped Arthur with his sneakers (yet another skill he took for granted), and they made a beeline for the nearest exit.

     “I don’t like shopping,” Merlin sighed. “Now that you have a basic wardrobe, we shouldn’t need to do this again for a while.”

     They tossed all the bags into the trunk (but not before Arthur fished out his new Ray Bans) and headed to lunch.

     “I think it’ll take a while to get used to the food,” Arthur said thoughtfully after a bite of his cheeseburger. They sat in a local diner, near the window so Arthur could watch the world go by. He enjoyed doing that.

     “You can find pretty much any kind of food now,” Merlin told him about sushi and ice cream and that some people ate only foods made from plants.

     “I’m a partial vegetarian myself,” he noted with a stab of his salad. “For the most part I stick to the healthy stuff, but every once and a while I’ll have a good steak. Although, as a physician, I should probably warn you off red meat.” Arthur rolled his eyes and stuffed his mouth with the delicious meat patty.

     Three hours later they had nearly finished settling Arthur into his new room at Casa de Merlin (after Merlin’s flippant comment yesterday, Arthur refused to call it anything else, despite not knowing a lick of Spanish). The former king had been occupied for a while watching all of his new clothes tumble around in Merlin’s front-loading washer and dryer, and had even been compliant when Merlin insisted he help fold and hang up said clothes when they were clean. Considering he’d probably never done chores a day in his life in Camelot, it was a step in the right direction as far as Merlin was concerned. His new accessories were organized on the desk, and Merlin showed him where to stow his personal hygiene products in the en-suite bathroom.

     “You like to read, right?” Merlin asked, smoothing down the plain black comforter. Arthur nodded. “Great, I’ve been collecting some books I think you’ll enjoy.” He led his friend into the office-slash-library and pointed to a shelf in the corner. It was stuffed with books on Arthurian legend, histories through the ages, weaponry, battles, and even some novels. Arthur’s eyes lit up as he read the titles.

     “Wow! These are great, Merlin! Thank you.”

     “They’re yours. You can keep them on the bookshelf in your room if you want.” Arthur was overcome by a sudden urge to hug his friend, not for the first time since he had returned, but quickly stifled it. He wasn’t sure if that was something men did now, and he didn’t want to make Merlin uncomfortable. Instead, he slapped Merlin gently on the shoulder before wandering along the wall of books. He stopped when he came across a shelf with names that were all similar, and familiar. Merlin Balinor, M Emrys, E Merlinas, and several other variations.

     “You wrote these,” Arthur caught on. He ran his fingers over the spines of books of various sizes and colors.

     “Yes,” Merlin admitted. “I love writing.” Writing had become a passion over the centuries, and he had quite a few published works on display. Medical and historical textbooks, non-fiction books on the middle ages and magic, and even a few on Arthurian legend (who better?). Arthur stopped on a short, black book with just two words on the inch-thick spine: _Lessons Learned._ He pulled it from its place and stared at the glossy cover. It depicted a young man at a desk, an older man leaning over his shoulder.

     “Oh,” Merlin chuckled nervously. “My foray into romance.” Arthur saw the blush on his sculpted cheekbones.

     “Romance?”

     “Romance novels. You know, love stories. But usually with…erm…graphic descriptions of, well, the physical aspects of love?” Merlin couldn’t just say _“steamy sex scenes”._ It was too awkward, even as the writer. Arthur seemed to understand just fine what he meant, if the blush on _his_ face was any indication.

     “But these are two men,” Arthur pointed out.

     “Well, yes. I write gay romance fiction. I’m gay,” Merlin said with a shrug.

     “Gay?”

     “Homosexual. Attracted to men.” He was out and proud, and no one in the last thirty years had ever seemed to mind. But Arthur didn’t know. Merlin hadn’t quite figured it out for himself before Arthur died, though he knew he was interested in some of the men he knew, namely Arthur. He decided to roll with it and see what happened.

     “That’s the first one that I wrote, just for the hell of it. Had no idea it would become successful. My publisher has asked me to write more.” Talk about a shocker. He’d half-assed “Lessons Learned”; it was originally a writing exercise to branch out of his non-fiction rut. Teacher-Student was one of his favorite sexual fantasies, and after one particularly hot booty call he decided to have some fun. Turned out he was a pretty good romance writer.

     He could tell Arthur had more questions, but was too afraid or uncomfortable to ask. All in good time, Merlin supposed. He’d already vowed to himself to answer any question Arthur asked openly and honestly, no matter how uncomfortable. The man needed to understand the world around him, and he trusted Merlin to be his teacher. And he had a _lot_ of catching up to do.

     Without waiting for Arthur, he gathered up some of the books he’d collected for him and headed back to the blonde’s room. Arthur followed suit and they arranged the books on the shelf in semi-awkward silence.

     Arthur lay awake that night, unable to get what Merlin had told him out of his head. He was homosexual, which didn’t really matter to Arthur. To be honest, he’d kind of wondered why Merlin never seemed to show interest in women. What bothered him was that Merlin hadn’t told him before. Why had he kept this from him when they had shared so much? Had he been afraid of Arthur would do, like he was about his magic? And he wrote sexual stories? Merlin was more of a deviant than he thought. Where did he get his ideas? Did he have lovers in the past? Did he have one right now? And what kind of story was “Lessons Learned”, anyway?

     He knew Merlin was in bed. His light was off and his door shut. Against his better judgement, and with something akin to jealously in his heart, he silently climbed out of his new bed and crept into the library. Before he could change his mind, he snatched the small black book and hauled it back to his room, shutting the door tightly behind him. He would see what this “romance fiction” was all about, and maybe he’d get some clues about Merlin’s past.

     The story was simple enough. A young man, Michael, was a student at a local university. His professor is Mr. Garrett, and after months of pining they begin a sexual affair. The writing was good, Arthur would admit that much. But it wasn’t until the affair began that he saw the appeal of such novels. The encounters were passionate and wild, and he couldn’t stop reading. When Garrett had Michael bent over his office desk, papers strewn everywhere, both still dressed, Arthur couldn’t help himself – he had to reach into his pajama bottoms and give his stiff cock a few strokes. As Garrett thrust harder and faster into Michael, Arthur’s hand pumped just as fast. When Michael moaned for Garrett to _“please let me come,”_ Arthur was waiting on the edge. As Garrett shouted profanities as he reached climax, Arthur spurted hot cum into his hand, struggling to keep his moans silent. He set the book down and hurried to clean himself up before collapsing back into his sheets. Wow. He fell asleep exhausted and more confused than before.

     Merlin was already up and making breakfast when Arthur stumbled into the kitchen the next morning. The first thing he noticed was that Arthur didn’t look so great. He was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes.

     “You alright?” he asked, setting out a bowl and a few boxes of cereal.

     “Hmm? Oh, yeah, I just didn’t sleep much.” Arthur began pouring himself his new favorite breakfast. “I was up all night reading.”

     “Oh? Found something you liked, then?” Merlin stood on the other side of the breakfast nook (which was really a giant marble-topped island) and sipped his steaming cup of tea.

     “I read your book. ‘Lessons Learned’” Arthur said. He looked up from his food when he heard a small sound. Merlin had a strange expression on his face.

     “What did you think?” Merlin tried to ask calmly. Internally, he was panicking.

     “I thought it was well-written,” Arthur said simply. Their silence lasted for a solid five minutes before Arthur dropped another bomb on Merlin’s once-mellow Saturday morning.

     “Why did you never tell me you were homosexual?”

     “I did last night,” Merlin reminded him.

     “No, back in Camelot. Did you feel you couldn’t confide in me?” Arthur sounded hurt. Merlin set his mug down and went to sit next to Arthur. 

     “Arthur, look at me. I didn’t even know myself back then. I always knew I was different, but I didn’t figure it out until a few hundred years after you died.”

     “How did you find out?” Arthur asked quietly, not making eye contact. Merlin laughed.

     “I got drunk and ended up in bed with a man I was travelling with,” he rolled his eyes. “Not my brightest moment. But I realized pretty quickly after that it just felt _right._ I’d never felt that way about women, even if I did think they were beautiful or lovely. It’s only ever been men.” He shrugged. It was the truth. And he was going to be truthful. Arthur looked up to meet his eyes; they were unreadable.

     “Have you slept with many men?” he asked.

     “Arthur, you have to realize I’ve been around for 1500 years-“

     “-How many?” Merlin sighed.

     “I’m really not sure. It’s not like I’m always sleeping around or anything. And I’ve always been very careful. No disease to speak of,” Merlin finished. Arthur’s eyes widened. Looks like he’d need to explain sexually transmitted infections to him, too.

     “Do you have a lover now?” was the next question. Ah. Now Merlin understood.

     “No. The last lover I had was about a year ago, if you don’t count texting and calls. I’ve never had a serious partner, at least not one that lasted very long. I’ve always been waiting for you to return. You’re my destiny, after all.” Merlin kept his gaze down at his hands. Arthur had known back at Camlann that Merlin was destined to be at his side. Would he guess now the true nature of Merlin’s feelings?

     “How did you come up with the idea for the story?” Arthur’s next question surprised him slightly. Merlin gritted his teeth. Damn is oath to be honest.

     “The Teacher-Student thing is one of my kinks. I’d had a particularly hot conversation with someone and decided to write about it.” He’d save the phone sex explanation for another time.

     Arthur had begun to feel a little guilty for his jealousy. He couldn’t fault Merlin for having other lovers or partners. He couldn’t begin to imagine how lonely his existence had been. All because he believed one day Arthur would return to him. And now he was willing to put all of that aside so they could be together once more.

     Sitting there watching Merlin sip his tea, he began to ponder his own feelings for the man. He loved Merlin; they had been best friends, despite their rough beginnings, and Arthur had always worried about him. But he had been in love with Guinevere. Married to Guinevere. His deep, passionate feelings for her had overshadowed his steady, devoted relationship with his manservant. Now it was just the two of them, and those feelings were just as strong as they had been the day Merlin held him in his arms as he drew his last breath. He could vaguely remember Merlin’s faded voice whispering, “stay with me”, and how badly he wanted to obey. The memory put a lump in his throat, which he swallowed away along with the remembrance of his death. Now, watching Merlin’s full lips caress the rim of his mug, pink tongue darting out to capture any escaping droplets, he found that his eyes were seeing his friend in a new light. He had been since he first laid eyes on him yesterday. He was noticing things like how Merlin’s eyes squinted when he smiled really big, and the warmth of his body sitting so close to him, and the thick corded veins of his forearms. He felt utterly confused.

     “What if someone was attracted to both women and men?” he asked.

     “Then they might identify as bisexual,” Merlin said. “Sexuality is much better understood now, and some people see it as more of a spectrum. Everyone is unique, and their sexuality is entirely their own. And that’s ok. I have a Human Sexuality book here somewhere, if you’re interested,” he offered casually. Arthur shrugged noncommittally, though he _was_ eager to better understand what he was feeling.

     For now, however, he was content to sit in the peaceful quiet of Merlin’s kitchen, drinking tea and learning more about this surprising 21st century Merlin.

    


End file.
